"Fiat money is backed by men with guns; Bitcoin is not. So why should this thing have any value?"--Uber statist economist Paul Krugman.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Gary Johnson fundraising beginning to take off: YOU can make it explode

The Supreme Court says money equates to political speech.

On one level I've always disagreed with that, but being on the fringes of the inside of a presidential campaign I begin to see the argument from the candidate's point of view. No money, no visibility. No visibility, no coverage. No coverage, no votes.

There are a lot of creative grassroots, populist tactics you can employ to offset some of the difficulties, but the reality is that if you don't have millions at your disposal you aren't going to be a serious candidate for president, just like if you don't have $30k you're going to be hard-pressed to win a seat in the Delaware General Assembly in a hotly contested race.

With Federal matching funds for the direct campaign donations, here's the math: if one only considered the 500,000 folks who voted Libertarian in the last election, and if each of those people contributed $25 apiece, then the campaign would receive $12.5 million, which the FEC would double to $25 million.

Compared to the staggering totals that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are raising, that doesn't sound like a lot, but it would be enough to make Gary Johnson competitive in terms of getting into the debates. It would buy media and pay for more trips. It would be a game changer.

So if you are serious about wanting to see a third option for President, one who might actually change the conversation in America, then dig into your pocket for $25. That's it, that's what change would cost: $25.

If you agreed to $25 a month for the next three months, you could even give him a chance to be elected.